Prior studies indicate that incarcerated women are among the most economically disadvantaged populations in the U.S. An important difference between them and male offenders is that these women are usually custodial parents. Therefore, the consequences of incarceration for their well being are...

This paper examines the extent to which a democratic society characterized by an unequal distribution of income, is capable of transforming potential efficiency gains into actual economy-wide welfare gains. The model emphasizes the distortive effects of these potential efficiency gains on the...

Interpersonal preferences - preferences that depend on the characteristics of others - are typically hard to infer from observable individual behavior. As an alternative approach, this paper uses survey data to investigate interpersonal preferences. The General Social Survey contains...

This paper empirically examines the role of social networks in welfare participation. Social theorists from across the political spectrum have argued that network effects have given rise to a culture of poverty. Empirical work, however, has found it difficult to distinguish the effect of...

Food Stamps (FS) and cash assistance were reformed in 1996 and later to emphasize work as a route out of poverty. When employment opportunities were plentiful, as they were during the late 1990s, many families were able to transition off program rolls and into jobs. However, when the employment...

What consequences are borne by young men entering fatherhood as teenagers or when their partners are teenagers? This chapter focuses on a range of outcomes for the father himself. In particular, we will examine the role of teen childbearing on human capital accumulation (e.g., educational...